Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries

Creator

Avery, Frank Fuller

Title

Photographs from the Colville Indian Agency

ID

PC 19

Date [inclusive]

1901-1916

Extent

894.0 items.

General Physical Description note

5 linear feet of shelf space.

Language

English

Abstract

Glass negatives taken during the period of 1901-1916 when Avery was assigned to the Colville Indian Agency. The images record agency headquarters and personnel with numerous photographs of Colville Indian farmers and school children. There are several images of John McAdam Webster, superintendent of the Colville Indian Agency; scenes of eastern Washington (State); and family photographs of Avery's wife Anna, and his two sons, Warren and Frank.

Preferred Citation note

[Item Description]. PC 19, Photographs from the Colville Indian Agency. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

Biographical/Historical note

Frank Fuller (known as F.F.) Avery was born in Indiana on February 24, 1862. The exact date of his entrance into Indian work is not known, but he was already employed by the Indian Service prior to his marriage in 1892. Before moving to Washington State he and his wife were employed by the Indian Service in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Crow Creek, North Dakota. From about 1898 to 1916 Avery was connected with the Colville Indian Agency, first as superintendent of the Indian Boarding School at Fort Spokane, and then as inspector of Colville Agency Day Schools. He was once recommended by John McAdam Webster, the Superintendent of the Colville Indian Agency, to succeed him. Correspondence between Avery and Webster appears in the John McAdam Webster papers in the Washington State University Library.

Scope and Contents note

The collection consists of 894 5x7 inch glass negatives taken during the period 1901 to 1916 when Avery was assigned to the Colville Indian Agency. Among the major subjects included in his collection are photos of agency headquarters and personnel, including several pictures of John McAdam Webster, superintendent of the Colville Indian Agency; scenes of Eastern Washington, and family photos of Avery's wife Anna, and his two sons, Warren and Frank. All principle identifications were made by Avery while the processors added generic identifications on unidentified objects.

Arrangement note

Since Avery did not sequentially number his negatives, the processors contrived a numerical arrangement based on the dates Avery had recorded on most of the negative jackets. The negatives with no dates were arbitrarily placed in an 110011 sequence at the beginning of the number system. The numbering system has two sets of digits, one for the year, e.g. 04 for 1904, and 084 for the eighty- fourth dated picture in that specific year. Therefore, a sequence of photographs taken at a specific time may be split between the undated negatives in the 110011 group and the dated group.